Intense defense lifts Vikings

Fremd smothers Huskies' offense

Fremd 30, Hersey 6

September 10, 2005|By Steve Reaven, Special to the Tribune.

For the third straight game, Fremd's offense was a model of efficiency, but its sterling defensive effort stole the show in the Vikings' 30-6 Mid-Suburban crossover victory over Hersey in Palatine on Friday night.

"We didn't finish the game very well on defense last week, so we really were focused tonight," said Fremd middle linebacker Matt Casaletto. "We have the athletes to be an excellent defense. Hersey wanted to control the clock, so stopping the option was our priority."

Hersey's Mike Riggio returned the opening kickoff to the Fremd 47-yard line, but the Huskies (2-1) didn't make it into Vikings territory again until midway through the third quarter. Perhaps the only downside for Fremd (3-0) was having its shutout bid spoiled late in the fourth quarter as Hersey quarterback Steve Platek rambled 35 yards for a score, eating into the Vikings' 30-0 cushion.

Jeff Koeneman's 34-yard field goal put Fremd up 3-0 and senior running back Cleo Walker had TD runs of 3 and 6 yards sandwiched around a Scott Tolzien 20-yard scoring pass to Koeneman for a 24-0 halftime lead.

While Tolzien (9 of 16 for 185 yards and 2 TDs) and his talented receiving corps are more than enough for opposing defenses to account for, it was the 5-foot-2-inch Walker who helped show what the ground game can do, rushing for 179 yards on 21 carries in only three quarters.

Knowing that the six touchdown passes Tolzien threw for in the Vikings' first two wins would garner ample attention, Walker figured he might have a chance to shine Friday night.

"We knew they would be watching the pass tonight, so we came out running and the holes the offensive line gave me were huge," Walker said.